We Cannot Redeem Ourselves

Can we redeem ourselves? That is, do we have the power to make payment for all of our wrongs? Before we can answer that question, we have to know what is for sale and who is doing the buying. Just as we might look over a used car, we need to “kick the tires and look under the hood” to see what the merchandise is worth.
In years past, one could hear folklore about the devil coming around and trying to buy one’s soul. From “The Devil and Daniel Webster” to the Charlie Daniels’ song, “The Devil went down to Georgia,” there was always that theme where the devil would try to buy your soul for a certain amount of money or fame. But don’t expect the devil to come around with a piece of paper anytime soon. The fact is, from the time of the fall of Adam and Eve, our souls by nature are already tainted and corrupt. Just as Paul says, “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22–23). From the day we were born, we were owned and ruled by the devil.
So if Satan is not buying, who is? We hear the Psalmist say, “No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—that he should live on forever and not see decay” (Psalm 49:7–9). We might want to buy ourselves out of our sinful debts, but we have sticker shock. We see the law and its requirements and we know we will always come up short. Like Paul says, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin” (Romans 3:20).
We know we cannot redeem ourselves, so what can we do? The Psalmist has the right answer: “But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself” (Psalm 49:15). This is one of the places in the Old Testament that talks about God’s promise to take those who trust in Him to one day be with Him in heaven. St. Paul says, “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify” (Romans 3:22).
But what must we do to get God’s redemption and righteousness? It does not have to do with what we must do, but it has to do with what was done for us. Paul declares, “And [we] are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood” (Romans 3:24–25). Even though we are less than perfect, Jesus is perfect and He suffered on the cross to pay for all of our sins. And who benefits? Paul tells us, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:22).
So where does this faith come from? Paul answers, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:26–27). We cannot redeem ourselves by our own actions. We are given faith through the power of the Holy Spirit, who works through His Word and the Sacraments. Paul asks, “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law” (Romans 3:27–28). We cannot redeem ourselves, but Jesus Christ as our Savior has redeemed us. He paid the price of sin by His death on the cross to establish our righteousness before God.
Paul Sullivan is pastor of Ascension Lutheran Church in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.